Desire
by LieutenantX
Summary: What could drive so duty-bound a man as Zhao Yun to betray his Lord? The same that drove all to such an end. ZYSSX
1. Prologue

A Note: My knowledge of ROTK is, unfortunately, limited. Should the characters as they   
  
were portrayed here never have been anywhere close to Cheng Du at this time, then I do   
  
apologize. I am simply a humble fanfiction writer, not one to study ancient Chinese texts.  
  
Desire  
  
Prologue: The Words of the Sage  
  
"Brother, who is this little man that's standing in our way?"  
  
"Hmm, such a puny warrior could not be the great Lord Zhao Yun! Who are you, and   
  
what are you doing with Lord Zhao's spear?"  
  
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei threw back their heads and laughed at their own jokes. It was   
  
spring, and there was a chill wind in Cheng Du, clouds hanging overhead, threatening to   
  
rain. The farmers were scattering seeds in their fields, and the wheels inside Lord Liu Bei   
  
and Zhuge Liang's heads kept turning like they did year round. Zhao Yun shook his head   
  
and pushed past them, smiling. They meant no harm, but he was busy. When the two   
  
brothers had finished their laughing, they saw that they were alone and hurried to catch   
  
up with Zhao Yun.  
  
"Lord Zhao Yun, we're going to go have a drink! Come with us!" Guan Yu slapped the   
  
smaller man on the back good-naturedly.  
  
"I'm busy." Zhao Yun mumbled.   
  
"You're always busy! Take a break from working and have a drink." Zhang Fei   
  
bellowed, waving his arms.   
  
"Lord Zhuge Liang has sent me to find a sage. He has important information on Wei's   
  
battle with Lu Bu."  
  
Guan Yu laughed.  
  
"It's another red herring! Zhuge Liang sent us after six of these sages, and the only good   
  
that came of it was when one told me who not to bet on at the races! Come have a drink!"   
  
Zhao Yun shook his head and kept walking, sliding past a young man who had no choice   
  
but to rudely bump into the brothers. As he furiously bowed and whispered apologies to   
  
the two, Zhao Yun slipped away and disappeared into the crowd.  
  
"Who not to bet on at the races… the idiots." Zhao Yun continued to mumble to himself   
  
as he came closer to the Inn he had been told of by his last informant. He kept his spear   
  
handy in case something else might be accompanying the sage. For example, a Wu   
  
assassin. In his mind, he saw himself opening the door and coming face to face with Zhao   
  
Yu. He did not want to fight anyone today. He mumbled again to himself under his   
  
breath, a mild oath that he would not be caught unaware by anything that might lie inside.   
  
Zhao Yun spared a glance at the name of the Inn before he laid a hand on the door. The   
  
Thirsty Nanman.  
  
'You've got to be kidding me...' he thought, before opening the door and ducking inside.   
  
The air was thick with the smoke of incense that burned in corners of the room, obviously   
  
to cover up the smell of the current patrons. Men were sprawled wherever they seemed to   
  
have fallen the night before, empty mugs and bowls not too far away. A very distressed   
  
innkeeper rushed out to greet him.   
  
"Lord Zhao Yun! Oh, thank Heaven! Can you help me get them out of here? I can't wake   
  
them up and they just won't leave! I have no food or drink left to give them, and I fear   
  
what they'll do when they wake up!"   
  
Zhao Yun silenced him with a raised hand. Walking over to the nearest drunkard,   
  
sleeping on his back, sprawled over a circular table, he poked the man in the ribs with the   
  
blunt end of his spear. He grunted, swatted at the spot he'd been poked, and rolled over.   
  
Onto the floor. He landed with a loud 'oomph!' and opened his bleary eyes. He saw Zhao   
  
Yun squatting down to a more personal level with the man. Yun narrowed his eyes and   
  
said forcefully,  
  
"Out."   
  
The drunk snorted and went back to sleep. Zhao Yun shrugged and tapped him with the   
  
blunt end of his spear again, harder this time. The man mumbled and groggily climbed to   
  
his feet.   
  
"All right… You want some of this?" he mumbled groggily.   
  
In a matter of moments, the man was face down in the street. His companions followed   
  
him. Zhao Yun shook his head and slammed the inn door. He turned to the innkeeper and   
  
bowed a 'you're welcome'.   
  
"Now, could you tell me where one of your patrons is currently staying?"  
  
He silently crept down the hallway, listening. It was the third door on the left, the man   
  
had told him. Yun silently knelt and put his ear to the door. He couldn't hear anything   
  
moving inside. Was the room empty?  
  
"You may come in, Lord Zhao Yun."  
  
An unfamiliar voice, no man from Wu that Yun had ever heard of. He silently reached for   
  
and opened the door, his spear grasped tightly in his left hand.  
  
"No need for that in here, I will not harm you. Leave your spear by the door."   
  
Zhao Yun silently rested his weapon against the doorframe, and entered the room   
  
unarmed. A sweet scent wafted from a basket of herbs and potpourri, different from the   
  
nauseating cloud in the tavern. This was much more tranquil. Scents of vanilla, jade, and   
  
sakura, which he only knew by chance. He had not smelled sakura since he had gone to   
  
Japan as a boy, yet the blossoms sat in perfect bloom atop the basket. The room was bare   
  
except for a single bed and a paper-covered window through which light streamed into   
  
the room. The paper had been rolled back, giving Zhao Yun a view of the buildings   
  
beyond the Inn, and the pedestrian traffic between them. The sage sat on a cushion   
  
beneath this window, his back to Lord Zhao Yun. His hair was bound into an intricate   
  
braid, one of strange geometric patterns that formed bun on the back of his head, held   
  
together with a single pin. He was clothed in blue, with white ribbon wound around his   
  
body in certain places, seeming to restrict his movement for the purpose of some   
  
meditation.   
  
"Please, sit. You must listen to what I have to say."   
  
Zhao Yun quietly folded his legs and sat, bowing deeply once he had situated himself. He   
  
lowered his head and spoke into his lap.   
  
"Great sage, I beseech you, tell me the news of the battle between Lu Bu and Cao Cao."   
  
The sage chuckled to himself.   
  
"Lord Zhao Yun, always you have placed duty above everything else. You are a great   
  
man, Lord Zhao Yun. If I do not overstep my bounds as a simple peasant man, I might   
  
say you are a greater man that than any you have ever served beneath."   
  
"What?!"   
  
"Your future is very great, Lord Zhao Yun. You will find a treasure brighter than any   
  
gold, which shines more beautifully that great gems and diamonds. But you must fight for   
  
it. Lord Zhao Yun, I see that every fiber of your being shall be tested soon."   
  
"Please, great sage, I am but a simple man. Please, tell me of Lu Bu and Cao Cao."   
  
"Cao Cao defeated Lu Bu, and captured Jing. Lu Bu's army is regrouping and preparing   
  
to counterattack."   
  
"Thank you. I must leave now."   
  
Zhao Yun stood and turned. He took a step forward, then the sage spoke again.   
  
"Before the first frost, you shall betray your Lord."  
  
Zhao Yun's eyes narrowed and his expression hardened. If he had been holding his spear   
  
at that moment, the sage's head would have been rolling about on the floor. Rather, Yun   
  
replied, with all the resolution that his voice could carry,   
  
"Never."   
  
And was gone. 


	2. Sun Jian's Sorrow

Desire:  
  
Chapter 1: My Daughter at Ru Nan  
  
My name is Sun Jian, father and head of the Sun family, King of Wu. My sons and my daughter have always brought me great pride. Never do they fail me, and always they return. They are loyal to Wu, myself, and most importantly each other more than anything else. I have great pride in all of them, but only one is the subject of this verse. My daughter has always held a special place in my heart. Throughout the war, I have tried to remain close to her. I have tried to keep her with me. Although I have been forced to send Sun Ce and Sun Quan on dangerous sorties, and often I have worried for their safety, my daughter I have always tried to keep safe, always tried to keep her away from the dangerous men who may hurt her or take her away. Now, however, I am faced with great difficulty. With the fall of Lu Bu's land and kingdom, I am faced with the danger that Cao Cao and Wei pose to Wu and my family. The solution to this, I had deemed even before Lu Bu had been moved into checkmate, was to ally with Liu Bei's Shu. I sent word to Liu Bei, asking him to end hostilities and ally with us, so that we may slay the dragon that lies to the north. He acknowledged my request, but asked for one thing in return. My daughter's hand in marriage. As I sat in my study in Yangzhou castle, I was outraged. I hurled the scroll, written and signed by Liu Bei's vassal Zhuge Liang, against the wall. I paced about, thinking of a way to negotiate. I sent back different offers, the services of various officers, land, money, position, anything I could think of. Liu Bei and his strategist refused. Zhuge Liang obviously could only think of the claim to my lands that Liu Bei's marriage into my family would bring, but I knew Liu Bei's reason. Liu Bei demanded this because of the pain it would cause me. He was just as ambitious as Cao Cao, and the only reason it was not I allying with Wei was because of the lands he held and soldiers he commanded. I would become a vassal, not an ally. With my daughter gone, Liu Bei knew I would lose something very important to me, and I would become weaker for it. For days I debated with myself, trying to decide for the good of my people, the good of my family, and the good for my daughter. I finally came to a decision. I would give in to Liu Bei's demands.  
  
At Ru Nan I decided to speak with her about the arrangement. We had been passing through the area on our way to Luo Yang, where I expected to stay until the changing front demanded my presence elsewhere. We were all together for now, myself, my sons, and my daughter. Sun Ce and his sworn brother Zhou Yu talked together about future plans. Sun Quan sang a lilting tune he had learned in a tavern a few days ago, with Gan Ning belting out the chorus, and both of them doing their best to teach it to the Qiao sisters. I watched the road ahead, and decided that I would have to tell her. She didn't have any choice in the matter, I knew, and I felt disappointment with myself that I do not wish to write, for that would simply bring it back to me, something I do not want. As the sun set, we made camp. The soldiers that accompanied us, some thirteen thousand strong, made a general din and bustle in the small city we had created in the open field, the very field where Liu Bei had fled from Cao Cao not too long ago. I performed my end of day ceremony, stacking the metal plates and folding the cloth padding of my armor, polishing my sword and helmet. Then I left my tent and moved through the camp, asking the first soldier I came to if he had seen Lady Sun Shang Xiang. He told me she had left for the river, and I moved to follow her. Away from the camp's lanterns and torches, the moon lit the former battlefield at Ru Nan, the stars twinkled overhead. I pushed through the long grass and listened. I began to hear the sound of my daughter's voice as it floated across the plains. She was singing. It was not the drinking song Quan had belted out during the day. It was a song that her mother had taught her, the ballad of the hero Jin Wo and his wife, Xu Shi. They had fought, lived, and died for the formation of the Han Empire. Jin Wo had been the great warrior, and Xu Shi the guiding mind. The ballad's melody, however, was what made it a classic, what all his children had been sung to sleep with by both my wife and myself. The river at Ru Nan's banks were rocky and covered in boulders. Sun Shang Xiang sat atop one of these, her legs dangling out over the water. She wore a simple robe, with a sash tied around the waist. She had always avoided the fineries that women became accustomed to, preferring more to work alongside the men. That was something that I loved about her, her willingness to make Wu great. I approached silently, clearing my throat to make my presence known only after I had left the tall grass. She turned to look at me and smiled, greeting me,  
  
"Hello, father."  
  
Before she turned back to the river and continued to sing.  
  
"Shang..."  
  
I remember this as one of the worst moments of my life, telling my child that she had become nothing more than a bargaining chip in a game of kings, that she had been given to a man who I did not approve of as her husband to preserve my kingdom. She stopped singing. That was the last time I would ever hear her sing again. I told her of the state of the kingdoms, and how alliance with Shu was the only path. I told her Liu Bei had made demands on our alliance, and I had been forced to give in.  
  
"He wants to marry you."  
  
She drew her knees up to her chest and looked down at the river.  
  
"I am sorry. I was for the good of our people."  
  
I could see her back begin to shudder. She was crying. I understood that. She had spent much of her life fighting this man and those that had served him. She knew that he was responsible for the death of many people that she cared about, and now she was to become his bride. I tried to climb the rock, to sit beside her. She stood and dropped off the side.  
  
"Shang! Come back here! Shang Xiang!"  
  
She disappeared into the night.  
  
"He wants her to WHAT?!"  
  
Sun Ce slammed the table in outrage, rising from his seat.  
  
"Calm down, brother." Sun Quan ordered. Ce sat again.  
  
"Father, is there no other way?" Quan asked Sun Jian.  
  
The three members of the Sun family, as well as Zhou Yu, were seated in a teahouse at the city of Ru Nan. The Lady Sun had returned later the previous night. Sun Jian had refused to speak with her. He was still too shamed by what had happened.  
  
"No. I've been corresponding with Zhuge Liang for months. They will settle for no less."  
  
Sun Ce launched into another outburst at this, clenching his fists as though he was wishing he held his weapons.  
  
"Fine, then! If he'll settle for no less, let's forget this whole alliance! Let him be swallowed up by the Wei dragon for his arrogance! Maybe when he's on the battlefield facing Cao Cao's million man army, maybe then he'll see where his damn libido's going to send him!"  
  
"Ce..." Sun Quan tried to interrupt. Sun Ce pounded on the table again to shut up his brother.  
  
"Nobody is going to treat Shang like a bargaining chip! Not even..."  
  
"That's enough, Sun Ce!" Sun Jian bellowed. The plates and cups rattled on the table from the force of the man's voice. Ce sat back down.  
  
"What, my son, are you mad? This is the only way to stop Wei. Shu will not be able to hold them off without access to Wu held transport routes and Wu reinforcements. This is an absolute necessity to not only the future of Wu, but also the lives of our people. Do you know what Cao Cao did to those that supported Lu Bu?"  
  
Zhou Yu nodded his head solemnly. Sun Quan and Sun Ce, however, looked to Sun Jian, waiting for him to continue.  
  
"He massacred them. Every last one. Those who served his army had their heads cut off and hung from the walls of Xia Pi."  
  
Sun Ce and Sun Quan made faces of horror. Sun Jian continued.  
  
"We cannot allow this to happen. Sun Quan, I want you to take Zhou Yu with you and escort Shang's carriage to Cheng Du. Then, continue to Luo Yang. The rest of us will have already set up camp there in order to prepare for the campaign against Cao Cao."  
  
"I want to go, too." Ce's voice had finally dropped to a normal tone.  
  
"No. Ce, I need you to help with the preparations at Luo Yang."  
  
Everyone at the table knew that was bullshit. Ce wasn't going because he would beat up the first Shu officer that so much as looked at Shang. Nonetheless, Sun Ce remained silent as Sun Jian continued.  
  
"Quan, Zhou Yu, I want you to discuss with Zhuge Liang what the best strategy may be to use against Wei. Make sure that Shang is to be well treated, and make note of anything and everything about Shu's military. Understood?"  
  
They both nodded and bowed. Sun Jian looked at Ce and sighed.  
  
"Ce, I am sorry."  
  
Ce's eye twitched for a moment. There was a tension in the air for a moment, and then Ce rose and stormed out, slamming the room divider behind him. Sun Jian sighed.  
  
"Dismissed."  
  
The two other men bowed, rose, and left. Sun Jian removed his helmet and took a sip of his tea. He meditated for a moment, the warmth of the cup comforting against his hands. He lowered it again and withdrew a scroll from the folds of his tunic. He lifted a pen and wrote.  
  
Cursed are those that love.  
  
Their lives are pain among pain.  
  
Love is a burden often to be shouldered.  
  
But always the burden is taken by choice.  
  
Gold is the heaviest to carry. 


	3. Discipline

Chapter 2: Discipline Was the Path to Victory  
  
"Thieves! Bandits! Foolhardy men that know no shame! Come back here and meet your death with honor!"  
  
Zhao Yun rode among the trees, chasing the sound of galloping hooves ahead of him. They had kidnapped the children of a village he had passed through, east of Cheng Du, on his way to Ba Zhou, and he had spent the day searching for them among the woods. Once he had found their camp among a clearing they had taken off, leaving the children behind. The group of men that he had taken with him from the village were left behind to reclaim their sons and daughters as the chase began. Lord Zhao's steed was of much better breeding than the horses of the bandits, and soon their rear guard was in sight, riding backwards in his saddle, bow in hand. Zhao Yun raised his spear with one hand in challenge, the other gripping the reins of his horse. He cut a large branch from where it would have whacked him across the face and continued to ride, moving steadily closer to the bandit. The bandit took an arrow from its quiver, drew, took aim, and let it fly. Zhao Yun moved his spear an inch to the left. The arrow zinged off its blade and disappeared into the foliage. The bandit notched another, drew, and let it whistle past Zhao Yun's left ear. As Zhao Yun moved closer, the man became more nervous, his hand visibly shaking as he let another one pass over Zhao Yun's head. He raised his spear and struck the bandit across the side of the head with the broad point just below the blade. The man's eyes rolled back into his head as he fell from his horse, unconscious. He could see the remainder of the group, now, fleeing into the woods. There were four of them. One was falling behind, a great heavyset man on a horse that was too small to carry him, his weapon still sheathed. He didn't notice Lord Zhao's approach, and was soon sent flopping along in the dirt just like his fellow. The three remaining slid into a triangular formation. Zhao kicked his horse. One of them looked back over his shoulder with wild fear in his eyes and urged his own horse forward with a loud 'hya!'. They broke into a clearing, a short plain of grass separated by a broad stream. Lord Zhao was sure that he could jump it, but what the thieves would do he could not guess. Two of them did attempt to jump it, the third stopping sharply and reaching for his sword. He never drew it. Lacking the time to focus on a non-lethal attack, Zhao Yun slew him in passing. The second man had fallen short of the far bank, and he was stuck in the mud at the bottom of the creek. The final thief, presumably their leader, continued to ride, turning, and then stopping. Zhao Yun stopped as well, and the two faced each other on the field. The thief reached to the sheath hanging from his saddle and drew his sword. Simultaneously, they moved to pass each other. The bandit leader's attack was slow and off balance. Within moments, the man's head was rolling in the dirt. Zhao Yun turned his horse to the final bandit, still stuck in the mud. The man looked up at Lord Zhao and dropped to his knees, begging for his life to be spared. Yun raised his spear and lowered the butt to within reach of the filthy bandit. He gripped it, and Lord Zhao helped him out of the riverbed.  
  
"I left two of your fellows unconscious on the other side of the river. Gather them up and carry one of them. The village will try you for your crimes.  
  
And so Lord Zhao rode back to the village, the only bandit capable of it walking, leading their dead captain's horse, the two others that still breathed slung across the back of it. As he drew closer, he spied an unususal bustle in the area, villagers rushing from one place to another, men that he had not seen there before. As he looked closer, he saw that they wore military uniform. Odd. No patrols ran through this village... Red military uniform.  
  
"Wu."  
  
He gripped his spear and turned to the bandits.  
  
"Run away and I'll cut your ears off."  
  
Before he kicked his horse to a gallop, bearing down on the nearest Wu soldier. The man panicked at the sight, falling to his knees.  
  
"Please forgive! I no fight!"  
  
This man was hardly even literate. Lord Zhao stopped his horse above him and lifted his face to look up with the butt of his spear.  
  
"Who commands your detachment?"  
  
"That would be me. Are you looking for a fight?"  
  
Zhao Yun's head snapped to the left. He knew that voice. Gan Ning sat atop a nearby roof, his bells jangling as his hands rested on the hilt of his sword.  
  
"Easy, Ning. Lord Zhao Yun. It is a pleasure to meet you on friendly terms once again."  
  
Zhao Yun raised his spear to the new challenger, approaching on horseback. It lowered a bit as he recognized the face.  
  
"Lord Sun Quan? What do you mean friendly terms? If this is the trickery of the Sun family..."  
  
"I'm shocked to see that your regard for my family has diminished so much over these long years. Come, there is no need for a drawn weapon here."  
  
Sun Quan's eyes darted to Gan Ning as he said this.  
  
"Please, lower your spear."  
  
Ning 'humph'-ed and disappeared over the far side of the roof.  
  
"He hasn't changed." Zhao Yun laughed to himself.  
  
"Would you expect him to?" Quan laughed as well.  
  
"I suppose not. Come, you must tell me of this new peace between our nations."  
  
"Lady Sun?"  
  
"Yes, Lady Sun is set to be wed to your lord."  
  
They had retired to the Wu encampment on the village's edge for dinner and tea, and the four officers were seated around a campfire, bowls of soup and chopsticks in hand. This was only a small detachment of Wu troops, maybe a hundred men with only enough supplies to last them for a brief journey. The fact that three of Wu's greatest assets guarded Lady Sun belied the importance of their task, however, and now Zhao Yun had pledged his own aid to their journey.  
  
"I see. I'm pleased that they may be the binding force of our alliance. It is always wonderful to see love..."  
  
Gan Ning coughed, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu shooting him a glare. Zhao Yun stopped and looked at them both, the hint sinking in. He nodded and folded his arms.  
  
"Now I understand. Lady Sun did not consent..."  
  
"She is marrying your liege of her own free will." Sun Quan's voice was firm, drowning out any ideas in the minds of the other two officers at his side to say otherwise.  
  
"I do not think..."  
  
"Lord Zhao Yun, it is not your place to think anything of this. This matter was decided by the men both you and I serve, and it is not for us to judge their decisions. You will do or think nothing but accompany us to Cheng Du. Otherwise, I release you from this endeavor and will report this insulting conduct to Sun Jian."  
  
"I will not be threatened by any Wu dog!"  
  
Zhao Yun set his bowl aside and leapt to his feet.  
  
"Pig of a Han loyalist!" Quan rose to his own feet. A pair of hands on each man's shoulders sent them both tumbling to the ground, Gan Ning and Zhou Yu separating them. Zhou Yu held Quan pinned to the ground, berating the struggling officer.  
  
"Lord Quan! Would you seek to undermine our alliance even before the dear cost can be paid? Hold your tongue, my friend!"  
  
Zhao Yun held back, Gan Ning whispering a brief 'Take it easy' and watching him closely. Sun Quan ceased struggling, and Zhou Yu helped him to his feet. Sun Quan wiped a smear of dirt from his cheek.  
  
"Well, it seems that there was something in the wine."  
  
Zhao Yun nodded.  
  
"Yes, something in the wine."  
  
"Maybe we all ought to head off to bed..." Gan Ning mumbled.  
  
Each man nodded.  
  
"I will see you all in the morning." Zhao Yun bowed.  
  
"We ride at sunup. Don't be late." Sun Quan bowed in return.  
  
As Zhao Yun slept that night, he thought he heard voices. The voice of the mystic, saying he would betray his lord. The voice of Guan Yu.  
  
"Zhao Yun! Come and meet your death!"  
  
Zhuge Liang.  
  
"Please, Lord Zhao, control yourself! Wait, what are you... Guards! Guards!"  
  
His liege.  
  
"Zilong, you traitor! If no one will slay such a dog, I shall! Stand and fight me!"  
  
He was falling, falling through a ghostly stream of accusations, threats on his life by his friends.  
  
Zilong, traitor.  
  
Zhao Yun, murderer.  
  
"Never!"  
  
He thought he'd screamed as he sat up in bed, sweat running in rivulets down his face, matting his hair. His bedroll was soaked in it. His pulse lowered to a normal rate as he realized where he was. He was among friends. His loyalty to Liu Bei was unquestionable and everlasting, and...  
  
Was that singing he heard?  
  
'His lady rode to the river,  
  
Here laid Quanyi,  
  
She wept by his side,  
  
His foe's spear had pierced his side,  
  
His lifeblood ran to the sea,  
  
She wept by his side for her life,  
  
His dying words,  
  
My Lady, Xu Shi...'  
  
He knew that song, that ballad. What voice was that that could be singing? He pulled on a light tunic and tied a belt around his waist before stepping out into the warm night air.  
  
A beautiful woman, red-brown hair surrounding a bright face. Yet her eyes seemed sad and distant. He watched her silently for a moment before he moved to approach. His foot loudly snapped a twig, and she whirled around to face him.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Someone such as you should not be singing such sad songs."  
  
"And why not, may I ask?"  
  
"The style of your beauty asks for a tune that is more lively."  
  
"Zhou Yu's flute might give us such a tune."   
  
"But Zhou Yu is asleep, and he would find it hard to play in the waking world while his mind dreams."  
  
She laughed and he smiled, stepping into the small clearing framed by a handful of tents. The troops were asleep, the watchmen were on the edges of the camp, and the only light cast on the two was that of the waxing moon, the grass beneath their feet wet with dew.  
  
"Do you know any dances?"  
  
"A few."  
  
Zhao Yun thought for a moment of the proper song for this girl.  
  
"Do you know River of China's Peace?"  
  
She nodded. Zhao Yun took her hand and sang. She danced with him, a lively tune that he had sung to himself before riding into battle, on occasion, but this maiden didn't need to know that.  
  
"You might not want to consider breaking your marriage vows so easily."  
  
Jingling bells. Gan Ning was awake and prowling. He crept out of a shadow, laughing to himself. Zhao Yun looked at her closer, puzzled.  
  
"Marriage vows?"  
  
She bore an uncanny resemblance to Sun Quan.  
  
"You idiot! Do you have any idea whose dress you were just trying to get under? This is Lady Sun!"  
  
He approached her and playfully rested his hands on her shoulders. She swatted at him and pulled away.  
  
"Gan Ning, why do you always ruin everything?"  
  
Gan Ning ignored her complaints, scolding her in a mockery of an angry parent. "And you, what did you think you were doing, out at this hour? I should tell Sun Quan that you were dancing with a Shu officer."  
  
"An officer of Shu?"  
  
"You're both fools! This is Zhao Yun! He fought for Gongsun Zan once! He nearly slew Huang Gai!"  
  
Zhao Yun remembered that fight. Huang Gai had been lucky to escape with his life, and several dozen of his soldiers' lives had been forfeit for that.  
  
"This is Zhao Yun? The great Zilong?"  
  
"One and the same."  
  
Sun Shang Xiang bowed.  
  
"It's an honor to meet you."  
  
Zhao Yun, close as he'd come to it, had never slain anyone of any importance to Wu. So he supposed that she couldn't harbor too many hard feelings against him. He bowed.  
  
"It is an honor to have danced with so fair a maiden, Lady Sun."  
  
"Go to bed! Both of you!" Gan Ning grabbed Sun Shang Xiang by the arm and dragged her away, his bells jangling as loudly as ever. Zhao Yun thought he caught a fleeting smile from the girl before she disappeared into the camp again.  
  
Zhao Yun returned to bed, his dreams calm once more. 


End file.
